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An Open Letter to Amazon.com

When it was brought to light yesterday that you were selling “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct”, through your site we were stunned. It is incredulous that no one on your staff thought that this listing would be offensive, not to mention that what this “instruction manual” is teaching is criminal.

You defended the sale of this book in a statement that read, “Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.”

This is not a free speech issue and this book is promoting criminal acts.

As survivors of sexual abuse, we find it abhorrent that the author was able to use your services to disseminate material about how to avoid detection while committing crimes against children. Pedophilia is not a “love” of children as the author states, but an exercise of power over the most vulnerable individuals within our society. In his description of the book, the author states, “penetration is out. You can’t do that with a child, but kissing and fondling I don’t think is that big of a problem”. He is wrong. Any sexual acts between an adult and a child are a problem, and survivors of sexual abuse are living proof that the harm is immeasurable.

You removed the book from your listings, but not before it hit your Top 100 Bestsellers list. Unfortunately, you cannot remove from our memories your unwillingness to do what was necessary to protect children everywhere. For that, we bid you good-bye.

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Always remember that you may have been victimized by sexual violence, but by searching for help you have started your healing.